Safety
by ItlnChick
Summary: Just a little something I thought up, small scene to an idea. A girl who has been abused and hurt all her life, finally finds freedom.


_Another little idea that came to me and I just had to write out :) I've actually not developed a story for these characters, only a past and background. and then of course, this :) enjoy and once again comments are appreciated._ Thanks

* * *

I sat on the steps, my arms over my knees, my head in my arms. The wind blew around me as I cried to myself.

"Kristina?"

My eyes flew open and I held my breath. Busted. I didn't even lift my head to find out who it was. I knew that voice. I loved that voice. He spoke again, "Kris? Are you okay?"

This time I lifted my face. I turned towards him and watched as his beautiful features twisted when he took in mine. I imagined how I must have looked to him. Messy hair, blood shot eyes – a face so soaked with tears it was probably shrivelled. "Do I look okay to you, Thomas?" I asked, as I glared at him. I could hear the singing of the church in the background and wished I was in there with them.

His face dropped and he turned his head forward, watching the trees dance in the wind, I followed his direction and we sat in silence. My sobs occasionally breaking through the air.

"Kristina." he spoke again, head still facing forward, "You need to know you can trust me." he explained.

I sucked in a deep breath, shivering as the cold air froze my insides, pulling my knees closer to my chest I placed my chin on them and spoke. "Can I?" I questioned sarcastically.

He nodded and turned to look at me. I could see him in the corner of my eyes, watched as he looked me up and down and then finally shook his head, annoyed at what he saw. "Kris. Please. I can't take this any more. If you won't open up and trust me, then at least try talking to someone else. It's killing me seeing you like this."

My throat clogged up with mucus as my eyes stung with fresh tears. "I can't." I murmured. "I just need to go. That's all. I need to go. I can't take this any more. This pain. I can't. No one will understand – I don't even understand." My head disappeared in my legs again as I cried and wailed shamelessly. I heard his sigh beside me the same time I felt his large hands rub my back, I turned towards him, folding myself into his large body. His arms wrapped around me and hugged me close. I sighed – I had waited so long for someone to hold me this way, and it felt so good.

"You need to let it out." he whispered again, his large hand rubbing my back.

I sniffled and spoke in a low mumbled, my voice muffled by his chest, "I need to get out of this life. I can't stand the pain. Waking up every morning, paranoid that I had done something wrong – that I was doing something wrong. But I can't leave. I can't. Not yet."

I stopped abruptly as his hand stopped it's movements. I had said to much. Offended him? Surprised him? Whatever I had done he had stopped, he was shocked. I was scared.

He started speaking and pulled me away, I realised that this was why he had stopped his soothing gesture, lightly shaking me he let his eyes pour into mine, "I can't watch you like this any more." he said, "You used to be so beautiful – don't get me wrong. You still are, you just don't show anyone. You used to smile so much. I haven't seen that beautiful smile of yours in ages – you can trust me, I hope you know that. Because whenever you're in pain – so am I. It hurts me seeing you like this, seeing your beautiful face washed with horror, seeing you rot yourself away so you're only skin and bones." his eyes took in my frail figure. A figure that had once been much, much more fuller, "You're killing yourself and I won't stand here and let that happen."

I broke into tears again. That small cluster of words had searched through my skin, ripped through my muscles and entered my heart, pulling tightly at it's strings, stirring me, breaking me down. "It's not my fault." I gushed between sobs, "I can't leave. Not until I'm married! And I'll never get married. I'm going to be stuck here forever and --"

"--Marry me."

I stopped talking and my head snapped up, "What?" I screeched. I couldn't work out whether I had heard what I had heard. My heart accelerated at the possibility.

His rich eyes were swimming with security, "Marry me." he repeated, not even needing to clear his throat.

I glared at him, "Grow up." I hissed, my shield forming again.

He gaped around for a second and placed his hand tenderly on my shoulder, "Kristina. I'm being serious. You said the only way for you to get out is to get married. So, so marry me."

I pushed his hand off me and scowled, standing up, "Grow up Thomas!" I screeched, suddenly angry. I was angry at his proposition. Angry at myself for believing it, liking it. "You think you can joke around like this? Not everything is a game."

He stood up too – more like scrambled to his feet and darted towards me, pleading, "No! I'm not joking."

"All you ever do is joke! Name one time you have spoken to me seriously!" I yelped.

His face went blank and his gaze softened, "Now."

My breathing was loud and uneven. I watched as the smoke billowed out from my mouth with every breath. "You're a real jerk, you know that?" I said, after a short moment of silence. My voice thick with dryness. I hated calling him that. I hated it, but it had to be done. All this time he had led me along, tugged me the wrong way and now he was about to push me off a cliff, and I had no way to survive.

I stalked away leaving him to call out behind me, "No. I'm not." he began. "I'm giving you a chance. Take it. Kristina. Take it. I can't see you like this any more. It's killing me Kris! It's killing me."

My face couldn't control it's disgust as my heart swelled. This could be a chance, and I wasn't going to take it. "Shut up!" I yelled as he began to plead. "Do you realise what you're saying? Marry you! Do you know what that means? It means you and me will have to live with each other for the rest of our lives! Don't you understand that? You actually need to love the person you marry Thomas. That's sort of how it works."

I wished I would calm down. I knew my anger was hinting – hinting at how badly I wanted this. How I wished his words weren't a joke. How I wished we could get married, and I could leave and we could be happy together.

"I do love you." he whispered.

My heart thudded once and stopped as the wind carried his words to my ears. I used every muscle in my body to hold myself up. He loved me. But my shield was up and he wasn't going to tear it down any more, I responded in the only way I knew how – defensively, "Grow up. Thomas. Please, just grow up."

"And I'm sorry I never told you." he continued, "Because I didn't know. I only found out myself. These past weeks you have changed so much and now I realise how much I loved the old you – how much I want her back. And if marrying you and helping you escape will Krisng her back, then I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes. Cause I love you. Whether you like it or not." his voice was tipped with some sort of truth and I fought against myself to believe it.

I turned from him once again and made my way to the church doors. My heart carrying a burden I never wanted to carry. I felt sorry for him, this man I had loved all this time. With his soothing voice and gentle touch. He had offered to save me and I had pushed him away. I felt sorry for myself for not being able to reason, for being so broken inside that the only thing I knew how to do was push people away.

I swallowed all feelings of sadness and regret and masked them up with a large smile as I pushed the doors open and joined the worshippers inside.

* * *

With tears in my eyes and my throat gagged with mucus I ran to my room and grabbed my phone. I punched in a number I had memorised a long time ago and waited until the voice answered.

"Hello?"

I didn't give them a chance before pouncing, "Meet me, outside the church. In half an hour. We need to talk." I slammed the phone shut, cutting them off before they could start and ran out my house, my clothes dirty – my heart shattered.

He was sitting on the steps when I finally arrived. I patted my hair down in vain as I walked up behind him, clutching myself for safety. I was going to make a decision and I wasn't going to back out of it. Anger surged through my veins making every decision for me, it was that which caused me to call his name.

He turned around the instant my lips parted and I almost fainted at the sight of his beautiful face. "Kristina." he said, relief dripping from his tongue. He stood up and darted towards me, his arms soon grabbing my shoulders, supporting me.

"Take me." I whispered falling into him and letting him hold my limp body, "Please, take me away."

His arms squeezed around me tighter, his large hands gripping at my back, pushing me into him. "Kristina!" he breathed again as he buried my head under his neck. "What happened?"

I bubbled and spluttered as I spoke, "I can't take it any more. I can't, I'll die before I go back!"

"Kristina." his voice was full of sorrow, I hated to make it sound like that. Anger surged through my body again and I clung to him with all my strength, he gasped at my sudden squeeze but relaxed, squeezing me back.


End file.
